ENDOSCOPIC FEATURES OF METASTATIC TUMORS IN THE UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL-TRACT

Background and Study Aims: Metastatic tumors in the upper gastrointest inal tract are rare, The tumors that most frequently metastasize to th e upper gastrointestinal tract are reported to be melanoma, lung cance r, and breast cancer, We describe here our experience in relation to t he clinical manifestations and endoscopic findings of metastatic tumor s in the upper gastrointestinal tract, Patients and Methods: Excluding leukemia, lymphoma, and direct tumor invasion, eight cases of metasta tic tumor in the upper gastrointestinal tract from five identified pri maries were observed over a period of eight years, The histological na ture of the lesions was verified by endoscopic biopsy. Results: The pr imary tumors in the eight cases were lung cancer (two cases), renal tr ansitional-cell carcinoma (two cases), colonic cancer (two cases), mel anoma (one case) and testicular embryonal cell carcinoma (one case), A cute upper gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia were the most common f eatures of the clinical presentation, and the stomach and duodenum wer e the organs most often involved, Endoscopically, submucosal tumors an d polypoid masses, with either erosion or ulceration, were the usual m orphological findings, Conclusions: Panendoscopy with histological exa mination is a way of identifying metastatic tumors to the upper gastro intestinal tract when patients have a known primary cancer and symptom s relating to the upper gastrointestinal tract, However, there is no s pecific information allowing the origin of a lesion to be predicted.